B.C. gov’t shuffles deputy ministers
CHILDREN’S SERVICES: Mark Sieben, Lori Wanamaker will exchange positions effective May 30
VICTORIA — The B.C. government is removing the top official from the embattled children’s ministry as part of a shuffle within the civil service.
Mark Sieben, deputy minister in the Ministry of Children and Family Development and a former social worker, is moving to an equivalent post in the Solicitor General’s ministry effective May 30, the government announced Monday.
The shakeup comes after several months of high-profile child deaths that the government admits have diminished confidence in the provincial child welfare system, and as the ministry undergoes sweeping internal changes in the wake of a December report by retired bureaucrat Bob Plecas.
Plecas recommended more money and staff to improve front-line social work, the restoration of ministry programs, a quality assurance model for cases, new training and technology, and the hiring of new “contrarians” within the ministry to challenge the assumptions that can develop on cases.
The government promised to implement or study the suggestions and gave the ministry an additional $65 million, starting April 1.
Sieben’s departure could also mark a turning point for government’s relationship with B.C.’s independent Representative for Children and Youth, Mary-Ellen-Turpel-Lafond. In the past, she has complained that top ministry officials have refused to give her requested information and stopped briefing her on important matters.
“It’s important to me that there be a neutral public s er vice,” Turpe l-La fond said Monday. “It’s not a healthy relationship if people treat independent officers, of whatever ilk, as if you are a member of the opposition when you are asking for information.
“We have a challenge in British Columbia where there’s a shoot-the-messenger mentality that develops, and that can infuse the upper ranks.”
Lori Wanamaker, the current deputy minister in the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General, will replace Sieben in the children’s ministry.
“I’ve always found her to be a very pragmatic and positive individual to interact with and welcome the opportunity to work with her,” Turpel-Lafond said.
Also part of the public service shuffle Monday, bureaucrat Fazil Mihlar was promoted to deputy minister in charge of a new Climate Leadership division within the Ministry of Environment. He will lead B.C.’s development of a new climate leadership plan, designed to cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Mihlar is a former director of the Fraser Institute, and a former Vancouver Sun editor, who has since worked in the government’s oil and gas and advanced education ministries.
The changes come as John Dyble, the deputy minister to the premier and head of the civil service, prepares to retire Thursday. He will be replaced by Kim Henderson.
“It’s important to me that there be a neutral public service.” — Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond